Unsolved Mysteries
by Everlite
Summary: Four male detectives and four female cops, all different in every aspect of their expertise. However, once the two sides are forced to team up to get to the bottom of the town's latest unsolved murder, they soon become similar in more ways than they think
1. The Lonely Detectives

**Hey everyone. I'd like to apologize for my lack of updating on anything for the past month, and I'll tell you why- the laptop that had all my files and all my future chapters for my stories on it died out completely, along with everything I had on it. I have to take some time to rebuild what was lost, so in the meantime, I'm starting from scratch on this story, which I hope at least some people will enjoy.**

**Before anyone acknowledges it, I'd like to point out what will be notable changes in the fic from others-**

**-Naruto's going to have some maturity. Fanfictions portray too much of Naruto's dim side and not enough of his tactic one. Plus, his occupation in this fic will call for intelligence. He'll still have his Naruto moments, but he's not going to be an empty-headed ramen lover.**

**-OCs won't have Japanese names. I'm sorry, but I just don't know any Japanese names.**

**-Like in all my other stories, the plot WILL kick up. If you have read a number of my stories, you'll know that my plotlines don't develop right away. This is only because what's said before is going to be significant in the climax.**

**Summary: Four male detectives and four female cops, different in almost every aspect of their expertise. Once the two sides are forced to team up to get to the bottom of the town's latest unsolved murder, they soon become similar in more ways than they think…whether they like it or not.**

**Pairings: NejiTen, ShikaIno, SasuSaku, NaruHina**

**Enjoy, guys.**

Chapter 1:

The Lonely Detectives

Shikamaru took a drag of his cigarette as he leaned back against the brick wall outside the workplace. He sighed as he took it out of his mouth, breathing out a puff of smoke.

"What a depressing job…" He said to himself as his eyes closed slowly. It made him wonder why he was doing the job he was.

Not that Shikamaru didn't enjoy the thrill of investigations and challenge, but detective work came with a lot more than adventure. It came with traumatic visuals, unfortunate truths and loneliness.

The loneliness is what got to him the most.

"Come on, it's not that bad," a voice answered back uninvited but casually next to Shikamaru. Shikamaru wasn't startled by the sudden company. He simply took another drag of his cigarette and greeted his friend and co-worker.

"Afternoon, Naruto," he said, turning slightly to face the blond, dynamic uniformed Uzamaki. "And yes, actually it is."

Naruto leaned on the wall next to Shikamaru, contemplating pointing out the obvious. Due to lack of other responses, he chose to do so.

"You could quit," he suggested. Shikamaru took his cigarette out of his mouth.

"You know I can't do that," he replied, giving Naruto a look that explained why. Naruto just sighed and looked up to the sky.

"Yeah," he said. "I know."

After a short pause, Naruto chose to speak again.

"You know," he said, deciding to light up the dismal mood. "If you don't put that out soon, you're bound to get snagged by Jiraya again for 'smoking on the job'." He gestured towards Shikamaru's cigarette. "The man's ancient, but he could smell smoke from a mile away."

Shikamaru took no heed to this warning. "What does he care," he said. "He has subscribed every issue of _Playboy_ for the next few years of his life. As if he hasn't sinned enough in his life."

"True," Naruto agreed. "But he seemed to be pretty pissed at you that last time."

Shikamaru gave a scoff. "So the man likes to hear himself talk. What's he going to do, fire me?"

Naruto couldn't argue there. Everyone knew that himself, Shikamaru, Neji and Sasuke were of the higher rankings of detectives, and Jiraya would be more interested in cutting off his own arm than cutting them loose. However, Shikamaru's drug addiction still irked all of them.

"So, want to tell me what's miffing you so much about work all of a sudden?"

Shikamaru shrugged. After all, he'd rather share whatever problems he had with Naruto than his other two stoic co-workers.

"I don't know," he bit his lip. "Just, I can't help but notice every day that us four happen to be the only ones on the force with empty ring fingers."

Naruto's face dropped at the mention of this.

"Yeah," he agreed. "But you know why we can't."

"Yeah," muttered Shikamaru, obviously annoyed with the underlying reason standing between him and his wish. "Which is what's miffing me about work all of a sudden."

"Oh," Naruto said quietly. "I see."

Shikamaru nodded apologetically, having notably dropped Naruto's otherwise happy mood. But he was right. The loneliness was starting to eat away at their personalities…and when they loose touch with their personalities, they both feared what would become of themselves.

It was then that a door swung open from beside them, but no one came out. Even so, they both knew who it was.

"Uzamaki! Nara! Breaks over…we've got some important news from the department!" They then heard a great intake of air. "That better not be smoke I smell," the familiar voice of Jiraya warned, though he knew very well what Shikamaru was doing.

Shikamaru sighed and dropped the cigarette. "There goes my pick-me-up," he muttered, squashing the butt under his foot. _If it were only the boss's head…_

"Guess we ought to be heading in now?" Naruto hitched his head toward the entrance into the workplace.

"Unfortunately," nodded Shikamaru.

"Sometime today boys!"

"Alright, we're coming, keep your pants on, old man…"

_On the other side of the building_

"Uchiha."

"What?"

"Want to know a little fact about the universe?"

"Hm."

"The coffee machine is always going to be there. You don't need to guard it and disable others from accessing it."

Sasuke looking around to realize he had been standing right in front of the coffee machine, having dozed off. While doing this, unbeknownst to him, he had effectively pissed of Neji Hyuuga, who had an apparent coffee craving right then.

"Sorry," he said lightly, stepping out of the way for his co-worker. "You know you could have just told me sooner," he added in irritation.

"So I could have." Neji nodded, taking a cup out of the pile by the machine, along with a bag of coffee grounds. However, he did not finish his sentence, having implied the fact that he found the stupefied look on Sasuke's face amusing.

Sasuke looked at the fierceness in how Neji poured and mixed his coffee.

"Drink straight out of the machine, why don't you," Sasuke rolled his eyes at Neji.

"With the hours we're working lately, I might as well have coffee flowing through my veins," Neji breathed, taking a sip out of his coffee and recoiling a second after. "Damn it!" he cursed, slamming the cup down, causing a bit to spill on his shirt.

"Hot, is it?" Sasuke asked with a smirk, taking a sip of his own fair-temperature coffee.

"You're funny, Uchiha," Neji remarked sarcastically, seizing a napkin from the counter to wipe his shirt.

"Aw, did little Neji have an accident?"

Neji and Sasuke looked up in front of them to see Jon Linz. Or in other words, the two guys arch nemesis. In the office, that is. Since the Neji and Sasuke got promoted to the top rank, the most coveted positions, Linz had an unfathomable beef with them and never ceased to mock and tear them down whenever the chance came around. So of course, he leapt at the moment where Neji Hyuuga had dribbled coffee down his shirt.

"So it would seem," muttered Neji in response to his rivals mock.

"Oopsie. Well, no worries, once you get home, you can have your woman put it through the wash. Or lick it off herself, maybe? That's a personal favorite of mine." Linz gave them a sharp and evil look now. "Oh yeah," he said. "You don't have a woman."

Neji glared at him and crumpled the napkin in his hand. "So you think I need a woman to keep my shirts clean, is that it?"

"Among other things," Linz said smugly. "Such as wear the ponytail of the house so you don't have to? Or perhaps, give you a nice break from your work every now and then…" Linz made a suggestive pelvic thrust.

"And you call yourself a professional," Sasuke sighed, shaking his head.

"Hey," Linz said to Sasuke, tweaking an eyebrow. "I wouldn't be talking either, Uchiha. It's not like you've got anyone to fill the other side of your bed either."

"I don't need anyone to fill the other side of my bed to do to my job," Sasuke told him, taking a sip of his coffee. "Which is all that matters to me. However, if your ability to do work does come from a nightly dose of enthusiasm from a female, that's your business."

Linz glowered at the two. "You are so full of-"

"Uchiha! Hyuuga!"

The three men turned to see Iruka, who was of a rank below them, next to them with a stern look on his face.

"Yes, Iruka?"

"The boss needs to see you right now. Some new breaking coverage going on downtown."

The two men looked at each other and nodded. They put their coffees in the trash and began to walk with Iruka hurriedly to Jiraya's office.

However, they had not gotten out of earshot of Linz's last reminder.

"Think about what I said ladies," he mocked. "You keep telling yourselves you're fine right now. Tell yourselves that again when you die alone."

The two just kept on walking, pretending that Linz's words did not lightly strike their nerves for a reason they didn't know.

**This chapter is mainly to establish the guys positions and occupations. The girls will come next. The third chapter is where things will hit a new turn. I hope you guys liked it, R and R if you can!**


	2. The Consistent Cops

**MY SCHOOL LET OUT YESTERDAY! Well, yeah, whoop, you could probably care less, I wouldn't blame you. Anyways, I'd like to point out just a couple more things to you guys before reading this chapter.**

**-The ages. People like Iruka, Anko and Kurenai are going to now be somewhere in their forties, while the eight of them will be around their early twenties.**

**-No jutsus. Sorry, but it would ruin the plot. Otherwise, it's still Konoha, but in an AU, rather.**

**I'm not sure this matters nearly as much but…I don't own Coka Cola. Or Naruto, for that matter.**

Chapter 2:

The Consistent Cops

"Sakura?"

"WHAT?"

"Whoa!" Ino stumbled backward at the sudden exclamation.

Sakura swiveled in her chair in front of Ino to face her. "Oh, it's you," she sighed in relief, and hand on her chest. "Sorry, you just startled me."

"It's ok," breathed Ino, settling her own nerves down. "But jeez," she added, looking at the stacks of paperwork in front of Sakura. "Why are you burying yourself under so much work? We're only entitled to do about an eighth of what's on that desk."

"I know," Sakura admitted, leaning back in her chair as she threw an arm over her forehead. "But what's a head start on the future going to do to anyone?"

"A head start?" scoffed Ino, picking up a thick report on Sakura's desk and letting it drop. A large thump vibrated from it, emphasizing the astounding thickness of it. "Sakura, this is a leap ahead of the CEO of Coka Cola!"

"CEO of Coka Cola…" Sakura echoed, thinking about it. "Not a bad idea."

"Sakura," Ino snapped her into reality. "Honestly, you work all the time. You work so much in fact, that the four of us can barely have a girls night a month anymore."

"I know," Sakura nodded apologetically. "But you know that's what we were getting in applying for this job."

"Yes, I know that," Ino nodded, pulling up a chair and sitting in it. "But we'd at least have time to talk if you didn't work as much as you breathe. Don't you ever get bored?"

"Of course I get bored!" Sakura said, taking her hair out of the tight bun it had been in, running her fingers through it. "But it's our job."

Ino just sighed and gave up, not wanting to have this conversation for the fifth time.

"I swear," Ino said as she turned around and headed toward the door. "You need to find yourself a man…or _something." _

As Sakura heard the door shut after Ino, she began to mull over what Ino said.

"A man," she mused to herself. The suggestion did for about a second sound appealing, but Sakura quickly enough dropped it.

She leaned over her desk and began typing on her keyboard. "Who needs men?"

_With Ino_

Ino walked down the long hallway from Sakura's office, fingering through the papers under her arm. However, her attention was more turned to her conversation with Sakura than the paper she was in search of.

"_You need to find yourself a man…or something."_

It almost felt weird, her hearing her own words in her head again. But these words seemed to stick to her memory like glue.

"Maybe a man would do us all some good," she sighed, half-sarcastically as she turned her attention to her papers.

"Hey," a voice suddenly said from a door two feet behind her she had just passed, and had apparently spoken loud enough for whoever inside of it to have heard. "Speak for yourself."

Ino turned to see her fellow officer Tenten standing in the doorway with a smirk on her face. "So, you're love-hungry all of a sudden?"

Ino blushed a bit at her friend having accidentally overheard her private mutterings.

"Eh, no, I'm not," Ino defended, shaking her head with a smile. "I was just thinking about how uptight Sakura has been, and I just figured maybe if she had a guy in her life, she'd have something to love other than her desk and pen." She looked at Tenten's suspicious face. "That's all."

"Mmhmm," Tenten nodded, but still smirking knowingly at Ino. "Do you want to come in so we can carry on this conversation…in a more secure environment?" Tenten urged the last thing, which confused Ino.

That is until she turned around to see Ulmer Hucks, the office perv standing behind her.

He was incredibly bony and pasty, with blond hair that was so loaded and mussed with gel it looked like a greasy pile of fries. He had a suggestive smile aimed at Ino.

"Ooh, Officer Yamanaka…" he said in a voice that was trying far too hard to be seductive. "What's this I hear about you needing to find a man? It's hard to believe that a female with such long legs and angelic hair as yourself could be without a husband…" He then stroked Ino's hair, making her shudder.

"Get out of here, Hucks!" Tenten scolded him. "You're here on official police business. Not to deliver crappy come-ons to fellow officers, particularly not those of a higher rank. Don't you have some case files to crack somewhere else?"

At this, Hucks simply grinned another attempt at a sexy grin and flattened his tie out as he turned to Tenten.

"Well, Officer Tenten," he addressed. "If you were simply jealous that I was paying special attention to miss Yamanaka, you should have just said so straight out."

Tenten made a face.

"Oh, not good enough? Hm…" Hucks, unaware of Tenten's implied disgust in her expression, mused. "I guess we could have a three-some? Rather difficult, I will admit, but I'm sure I can pull it off like I did last time…"

"HUCKS."

"Yes, Angel?"

"OUT. NOW."

The intimidation in Tenten's voice was enough to make Hucks drop his guard…and, thankfully, his subject.

"Whatever you say, officer," he said with a wink directed at the two disgusted women. "If you're ever lonely in the office, give me a shout."

"Hucks…"

"Right."

Once Hucks had disappeared down the hallway with an annoyingly pompous swagger in his step, the two female officers began to converse again.

"Come on in," said Tenten, opening her door. Ino quickly followed, still weary of another unwelcome visit from Ulmer Hucks.

Ino closed the door behind her and took the seat in front of Tenten's desk while Tenten sat in the one behind it.

"So," Tenten sighed, eyeing Ino skeptically. "Men on your mind lately?"

"Not for me," Ino cleared up. "For Sakura."

"Ah," Tenten nodded, twirling the pen in her hand. "So you think a man would make her less tied up in her work?"

"Well, not exactly," Ino said in an iffy voice at Tenten's twist in her intention. "What I mean is that it would give her something else to keep her mind on."

"She's got friends," Tenten pointed out. "And her family. What makes you think a man would more successfully divert her attention?"

"Because unlike family, friends and work, a man in her life be inconsistency," Ino explained, smiling a bit in pride at her plan that was formulating in her head. "And that's all Sakura's life is right now. Consistency."

A slight pause followed as Tenten mulled over what Ino had told her. She bit her lip and twirled her pencil in hand even more. She narrowed her eyes in thought.

"So…" she began slowly. "You're saying she needs a man in her life because it would be a change?"

Ino's shoulders immediately slumped as she sighed.

"Never mind…" she said in a sad manner as she got up out of Tenten's chair and headed for the door. _Looks like I'll have to do this myself. _

Tenten just smiled and shook her head as she bid her friend a farewell. "Right. Well, good luck with that."

"Mmm."

Just as Ino reached for the door, the door swung open. Ino jumped back a bit in shock, but got over it quickly as she saw Kurenai standing in the doorway with a serious look on her mildly wrinkled face.

"Sorry to disturb you girls," Kurenai apologized. "But a special report has been sent in from downtown. Chief says it's serious."

Ino and Tenten shared a stern look before turning back to Kurenai.

Tenten stood up and tucked so files under her arm.

"We'll be right there."

_Back with Sakura_

Sakura looked deep into her coffee mug as she slowly stirred it. She could tell it was getting colder and colder by the way she was beginning to see her reflection in the coffee.

Who needs men? 

She closed her eyes and sighed. There were hundreds of men on the force. She beat out all of them for the position she and her three companions held. _What makes men so special? What is it that gives them the ability to make a woman…_

"I think the cream is stirred in there pretty well by now, Sakura," a small voice remarked from Sakura's office doorway.

Sakura swiveled around in her chair to see a smiling Hinata standing there, files held gracefully in her two hands and shoulder-length lavender hair pulled into a tight, conservative bun.

"Oh," Sakura woke herself up, tearing her eyes away from her coffee. "Yes. I think I put in four instead of three."

Hinata gave her funny look before cautiously coming closer. Like Ino, she knew that Sakura had a thing about being disturbed in her office.

"I may be stepping out of my boundaries in asking this, but is there something bothering you?" Hinata asked her.

Sakura yanked her head up and smiled sheepishly at her friend. "Of course not," she said. "It's just there's a lot of work lately." She looked at her desk, which was piled high with files. "A whole lot."

"I saw Ino in here earlier," Hinata added, ignoring Sakura's excuse. "What about?"

"Oh," Sakura now rolled her eyes playfully and gave a small chuckle. "Ino has this silly idea that a man is going to solve my troubles at work. That's all. Stupid, huh?"

A small light bulb lit up in Hinata's head, but she concealed her enticed attention with a softer tone in voice and a passive look. "Yes, absurd," she agreed.

"Anyway, I don't need a man," Sakura went on. "All they do is get in the way, hog the bed, and eat all the food in the house. And that's the very last thing I need."

"True," Hinata nodded to all of Sakura's examples. "But you must admit, you are a bit…" Hinata looked at the papers strewn over the desk. "…Buried. Perhaps you should consider a day off?"

"Hinata!" Sakura exclaimed as if the thought were ludicrous. "I can't just take a day off! Crime is a full time event."

"Yes, but think about it," Hinata reasoned. "You're so cramped that you even gave your reasons behind not needing a man in a _thesis statement."_

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off when the door of her office swung open, causing her to jump.

"Anko!!!" She cried. "You know I hate people just barging in!"

"Right, sorry about that," Anko apologized with a small smirk, not having lost the cool persona she had when they first met her. "But you're going to have to get up and going, because you're presence is required at Tsunade's office. It's critical." She turned to Hinata. "Both of you."

Hinata gave Sakura one last meaningful look form their conversation and turned to Anko.

"Tell her we're on our way."

**I hope you liked the introductions to the eight characters, things will link together next chapter when the first rising action will happen. R and R if you wish! Oh, and, HAPPY SUMMER!**


	3. Murder Downtown

**Hi, everyone. I'd like the clear up a mistake I made in the last chapter- the "Coka cola" error. The correct spelling, as you all probably already knew, is "Coca Cola." I had a feeling it was wrong, but I recalled a "k" in it. However, the "k" is only present in "coke", so I was wrong. I'd like to thank Chibi Penguin Chan for catching it for me.**

**Anyways, this is where the plot leads off. I hope you guys enjoy it!**

Chapter 3:

Murder Downtown

"Identity?"

"We believe it to be Dr. Morton Gould of East."

"Bodily scores?"

"Severed Achilles tendons- we believe that to be the first infliction—eyes gauged and stabbed in the heart. Whoever did this sure had a lot of rage."

"No shit…" Whispered Sakura to herself, looking down at the mangled corpse. Sakura never swore, so it was clear that this case had definitely branched off from the norm.

Nobody heard her though, as her hiss was enveloped by the cries of misery, fright and confusion from the civilians outside the caution tape as fellow officers tried to fend them off.

An apprentice officer of the girls' named Lira came up behind Ino and asked, "Any indication of a suicide attempt?"

Everyone just looked at her oddly.

Lira turned beat red and retreated. "Right."

The coroner turned back to the girls and frowned. "I know it's not the coroners business, but didn't the department of investigations pick up any fingerprints?"

Shaking, Hinata reached into the case file in her hands and fumbled around for a slip.

"Hinata," Tenten said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. Containment of fear was still difficult for Hinata, and traumatic sights, no matter how many she saw, were still cutting every time.

"I'll be fine," Hinata whispered hoarsely to Tenten, gently shrugging her off as she pulled up the slip she was looking for. She cleared her throat and composed herself. "None to be found. It was a pretty clean homicide."

Lira walked up again and scrunched her face at the body, looking at the blood that was being cleaned up by medics. "Clean?"

"Clean as in no evidence left at the scene of the crime," sighed Ino, struggling to maintain her composure in the light of her apprentice's ignorance.

"Oh," Lira replied, going red again. Ino bit her lip. _We're going to have to work on her. _

"I still don't understand who could have done something like this," Tenten said, one hand on her hip and the other under her chin.

"Who does?" Sakura sighed, tucking her notebook into her bag.

"Which brings us to our next subject, girls."

The girls turned around to see Tsunade behind them, looking more serious than she ever had before.

"Boss," The girls greeted in unison, bowing their heads quickly.

"Girls," she greeted back. "As important as this data collection is right now, I'm going to need you to follow me back to the administration."

"With all due respect…" Sakura said, looking back at the scene. "Why?"

"Oh, Officer Haruno," Tsunade chuckled. "Now I'm sure you girls didn't think you'd be cracking this one on your own? No, this one you will need detective assistance. And they're waiting for you back at the building."

"Detectives!" Spat Ino, eyes as wide as her three companions. "You're not seriously telling us we need the help of detectives!"

"Honestly, Tsunade, we're not that incompetent," Tenten agreed, just as shocked as Ino.

"Girls," sighed Tsunade. "I really don't think you give the detectives enough credit. They have twice the resources for investigation as we do, and besides, you'll be working with the top four on the force."

"As if that makes a difference," argued Sakura. "Everyone knows that detectives are arrogant bastards with no will to comply to orders! They just go off on their own, assuming they're right every time…"

"Now, Sakura," Tsunade now addressed Sakura more casually. "You really need to calm down."

"Calm down…" Sakura laughed ludicrously, crossing her arms. Hinata just sighed and closed her eyes. Not even she could look past all the rumors around the force concerning the detectives.

"Come on, now," Tsunade said in a serious and low voice, one that the girls dared not disobey. "We need to get going, whether you girls like it or not."

The matter out of their hands, the four officers grudgingly followed their boss, all thinking about how much their situation, well, sucked.

"Besides," Tsunade continued, opening the doors for them. "It's not as if they think any better of you girls."

The four looked up. "And what's that supposed to mean?" Ino asked.

Tsunade just grinned as she climbed into her seat in the front.

"Oh, you'll see."

_At The Office_

"Cops?"

"Oh, God, Jiraya, just how pathetic are we?"

"Guys, will you just settle down and get over it? You can't solve a case like this without cops, and they can't solve it without detectives," Jiraya explained to the four boys seated in the meeting room.

"You know what cops are like."

"Besides that they're stunningly gorgeous, no, I don't," Jiraya responded with Tsunade in mind. "Tell me."

Sasuke chose to explain.

"They are robots that follow whatever their master tells them," he breathed, bringing his hands up in emphasis. "Say they have a lead on something big that could be it? They call their boss. Their boss doesn't approve? They drop the lead completely, even if it was the right one."

"Not only that," added Neji. "But unlike us, they're advantage is in their guns. Brain power, minimal."

"Face it Jiraya," Shikamaru agreed, nodding slowly. "They might as well be programmed."

"That's the truth," nodded Naruto ferociously.

"Silence!" Shouted Jiraya, slamming his fist on the table. "I will not have you guys screwing this case up just because you happen to have clashing opinions with those you're working with. You're trained to disregard these things, damn it!"

"Come on, Jiraya," Naruto begged. "Please let us handle this ourselves. Can't you just toss in some detectives of a lower rank? Or CSI members?"

"Absolutely not!" Jiraya rejected his suggestion. "First off, you men practically are CSI members, what good would it do to add more?"

Naruto bit his lip, unsure. "Oh, ah….oh."

"Also," he continued. "You _will_ be working with these cops. We acquire unknown information, but they have everything else. I don't care if those girls have spears growing out of their skulls, you will cooperate!"

Then, the boy's faces went pale.

"Um, Jiraya…"

"I told you, I could care less that you think they are programmed robots with no brains!" You _need_ to-"

"Jiraya!"

"Chrissake, what is it, Sasuke?"

"Erm…behind you."

Jiraya slowly turned. Standing right behind him were the four cops and Tsunade…none of them looking too thrilled to have heard what Jiraya had just said.

"Oh…um, ah! Ladies, how lovely it is to have you here!" Jiraya attempted to clean up his own mess. "Girls, have a seat."

The girls, not loosing their stiff faces took seats opposing the detectives.

"And Tsunade!" Jiraya turned to Tsunade, who had her arm crossed over her chest. "My, you get prettier everyday!"

Tsunade sighed. "Save it for when it matters to me, Jiraya." She turned and walked towards the door.

"Good luck girls," she told them, giving them a particular glance that made them shudder.

Jiraya stood there, wobbling on his legs in embarrassment.

"Right, um, well, I'll leave you eight to your work, now." He inched towards the door away from the glares of the girls. "I bid you good night."

And with that, he bolted.

All the boys glowered. _Thanks, Jiraya._

It was then that the eight of them met eyes. As soon as they did however, it turned into a contest of glares.

"So," Ino said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Programmed robots with no brains, huh?"

And from there, the arguments raged.

**Hey, sorry I have very little to say at the moment. I just hope you guys like what's up and going so far. R and R if you guys want. Thanks.**


	4. Add that to the Record

**Hey guys, thanks for being patient! I must say, this chapter took a whole lot of thought, so I'm really hoping you like it.**

**Corssing my fingers!!! Enjoy.**

Chapter 4:

Add That to the Record

"I cannot believe you just spat on me."

"Seeing as you called me an obedient hound, I don't see the problem."

"Does the word 'professional' mean anything to you?" Sasuke scolded Sakura, gazing down at his shiny black shoe, which was presently tainted by a drop of spit.

"Does the word 'judgmental chauvinist' mean anything to _you?" _Sakura countered, jabbing a finger at him accusingly.

"Wow, you sure are easily angered," sighed Sasuke, sliding his chair back away from Sakura defensively with one foot. "What, did the divorce papers not go through or something?"

Sakura's eyes widened as she blinked a few times. _Don't let him see you cry. He's just a man…and a detective, don't forget that. _

"Bastard," she hissed at him for lack of a more powerful insult, narrowing her eyes so as to hide the wetness that was beginning to slide into them. Her past with men was a sore subject, to say the very least.

"Ouch," Sasuke replied, putting his hand over his heart as if he had been stabbed. He still did have that annoying little smirk on his face. As if he had accomplished something.

"And you say _she's_ unprofessional," remarked Tenten, noticing this as she shook her head in pity at Sasuke.

"Oh?" Neji put in from the other side of the table, looking right at Tenten, arms crossed. "And when was the last time you spat at the foot of a co-worker, miss…" He looked at the pad of paper and wrinkled his nose. "…Tenten."

Tenten gave a sneer back and swiveled to face him. "Oh, I'm sorry, you're a man? I could have sworn you were a woman with bad taste in fashion." She gave a scan down Neji's ensemble. Simple white button up, black tie, black pants…a detective's pay wasn't exactly glorious. "Very bad taste."

Neji gave a small laugh. "I love how you believe I've never heard that one before. Really, I do."

Tenten glared back at him. "So you men get into these fights often? Not too big a surprise really, but hey." She shrugged.

"Actually," Neji explained, sitting up as he putting his arms on the table and laced his fingers into each other. "We get into these fights very little. But seeing as you're houndish cops, we are simply _defending ourselves _from the oppressor."

"Should I be taking notes on this?" Naruto butt in skeptically.

"Why not?"

"Alright," Naruto chirped, flipping open a note pad from his pocket. He took a pen out of his breast pocket—so eighties—and began scribbling. "Houndish…oppressive…cops. Ah."

"What the hell?" Tenten shouted in disbelief, almost finding this laughable as she looked at Sakura, Ino and Hinata who were just as shocked as she. "Excuse me, but I believe you are the one's that even started this dilemma!"

"At least our claims are politically _correct," _explained Neji from his seat, crossing his arms once again over his cheap-eighties-detective-man-button-up.

"What…" Tenten breathed darkly. "Did…you say?"

"Amazing. Deaf too. Add that to the record, Naruto."

"Right on it, Nej!"

"…Please do not call me that."

"Sorry!" Naruto flashed a thumbs up and scribbled on the note pad in front of him. "_Deaf_…houndish...oppressive…cops. There we go."

"How rude…" sighed Hinata, choosing to take a higher road than that of her piers.

"Sorry, Hinata?" Neji directed his glare towards Hinata, very intense…and hateful.

"Please, Neji, try to contain your temper around my friends." Hinata bucked up her courage.

"Don't proceed to tell me what I can and cannot do, Hinata," Neji snapped at her angrily, looking on the verge of breaking out. "Not that that mattered to your father."

"Please just let it go, Neji," Hinata pleaded, not wanting to go into the feud between his family and hers, particularly not in front of her friends.

"Oh, I'll let it go," Neji breathed with sarcastic anger, looking away from her.

Hinata, deciding to fill more cracks, turned to Naruto, her hands folded elegantly on her lap.

"As long as we're in the workplace, I believe we should act as workers do," she explained to Naruto, trying to contain her anger over her friends mistreatment.

"Wow," Naruto whistled, leaning back in his chair.

"What?" Hinata asked, confused.

"You might want to remove that."

"Remove what?" Hinata was beginning to flush red. She didn't like not knowing what was going on.

"The stick from your butt."

Hinata's eyes widened and her mouth went agape. She had never been spoken to like that, and people knew not to. She was used to watching her friends be able to take verbal impact, but herself? Not so used to it.

"You're so…so…" She turned to Naruto, fire burning in her eyes.

"So what?" He asked, grinning. Why was he acting so disgustingly happy at Hinata's rage???

"So…" Hinata struggled to say the word her tongue was on, but couldn't. She remembered the words her mother once told her- _Even when you are on the edge of your temper, don't cross that line._

So Hinata did all she could do. She glared at Naruto, and closed her mouth.

"Oh," Naruto nodded. "Definitely uptight." He turned to his notepad and began scribbling more on it as all the girls groaned in unison. "_Uptight, _deaf, houndish, oppressive cops."

"Will you _shut up _with that dumb list already?" Ino finally exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "It's getting very annoying over here, I don't know about you."

Shikamaru, on the other side of the table, simply leaned back in his seat so that it squeaked and whipped out a pack of smokes. "As long as it's the truth, we're within our rights. As detectives that is."

He popped a cigarette in his mouth and brought his chin close to Ino, so close it made her a bit uneasy.

"Got a light?" He muttered through the cigarette in his mouth.

Ino just stared at him in disbelief, and then to the cigarette dangling in his mouth.

_Oh God…_thought Sakura, watching the occurrences. _Ino's number one pet peeve._

Shikamaru looked up at Ino's eyes, which were ablaze with pure and utter anger and malice, apparently all reserved for the little cylinder in his mouth. "What?" He asked obliviously.

Ino then cut loose.

"NO, I don't have a frickin LIGHT!" She snatched the cigarette out of Shikamaru's mouth and waved it in front of his face. "Even if I DID, why would I use it to help you light up this…this…ROD OF DEATH?"

Shikamaru just looked at her oddly, his mouth still in the half-open phase it was in when he had the cigarette in his mouth. "Rod of death?"

"Oh? What? Need clarification?" Ino raged, pulling the tan and white halves of the cigarette apart from each other. "This?" she said, holding up the tan tube. "Is the rod part. And this?" She turned the white part over, letting the ground weed within spill onto the floor. "Is the death. Make sense?"

Shikamaru, dumbfounded, just nodded slowly, perturbed by the severe reaction. Sure, he's been lectured by his family and piers for the smoke in the house, office and all, but never penalized for the deadly factor.

But then, it wasn't as if he wasn't quipped to answer back in the occasion that someone _did. _After all, he was a genius.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," he brought himself to say, a grin slowly making its way up the contours of his face. "But guess what?"

Ino heaved, her chest going up in down. "What?"

Shikamaru held up the pack of cigarettes in his hands and shook them a good few times. "I've still got more."

Ino's eyes widened as they fell on the—incredibly _full_—pack of cigarettes in Shikamaru's.

"You are officially my--"

"Good evening!"

All of the cops and detectives turned to look at the door. At the door was a young man with golden, well combed out hair, dressed, notably to the girls, with much more class than the other men in the room.

Shikamaru glanced at Ino who was still glaring at him. He could see her mouthing the finish of her sentence.

"_Worst Enemy."_

"Hm," he muttered to himself. _No more than ten minutes in and I've found myself another person after my blood. _

Dismissing Ino's look of death, he looked back at the blond man and listened as he sheepishly slid the pack of cigarettes back into his inside coat pocket.

"I'm Dr. Bates," the blond man introduced himself. "And my colleague and I will help guide you through the solving of the murder of Dr. Morton Gould, as we hold much vital information that may come in handy throughout your investigations."

"That's all well and good," Sasuke nodded slowly, having been more interested in the aforementioned 'colleague'. "But pardon my aversion, but where is this colleague you spoke of?"

"Oh," Bates said, nodding. "He's outside. I'm afraid he can't fit through the door with much ease. Please sit tight for a second while I go assist him."

Bates went out the door, and when he did, Sakura nudged Ino questioningly. Ino in response simply shrugged back.

But it was then that they understood why he couldn't get through the door without help. Because at the door was a man in a wheelchair, bald, smiling and quite old.

"Ladies," He bowed his head to the women first, who bowed back. "Gentlemen," he greeted the guys. "I'm Dr. Gamma, and I was Morton Gould's boss and close friend. And, in case you have not picked up from the name, I had also discovered the Gamma Ray many years back." He chuckled.

"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed. "Really?

Everyone looked at him, and Gamma cleared his throat in embarrassment.

"Um, no son, not really. The Gamma Ray was discovered by Paul Ulrich Villard in 1900. It's just a little self-joke I like to make about my age." Gamma nodded and blushed.

"Oh…" Naruto said, blushing himself half-disappointedly.

"Ah, yes." Bates changed the subject quickly. "Now, I see that you have all gotten to know each other.

The cops and detectives all looked away from one another.

"More or less…" Sakura muttered, but not so loud as to have Bates hear her.

Bates continued.

"And I see in the amount of time you've been left alone you have gotten approximately…" He picked up the official notes folder and looked inside it. And frowned. "Nothing done. No matter, the best leads come late."

"Oh, but sir!" Tenten then said, holding up her hand as she shot a dazzling smile at Bates.

Everyone thought the same thing in unison. _What is she up to?_

"Yes, miss?"

"I think that Naruto has some notes." Tenten pointed at the notepad in front of Naruto. The notepad that held the boys 'record' of the girls thus far.

Everyone looked at Naruto as the girls struggled to stifle their laughs. The guys all turned a deep shade of red.

"Ah, it's nothing really," Naruto said hastily, quickly to divert the attention. "I was just spit balling is all, nothing important." He slid the notepad off the table and turned it so the words were facing him.

"Ah, but brainstorming is the key to success!" Bates said enthusiastically, rounding the table to Naruto. "Do let me see."

"It's really nothing to see, sir…" As much as Naruto attempted, Bates was not about to be blown off course. Sure enough, once he got to Naruto he plucked the pad out of Naruto's hands.

"Let's see…" Bates let his eyes scan the page. Then of course, he hit it. "Oh."

Naruto bit his lip so hard he was sure it would split in a few seconds. But he was so filled with humiliation and regret he couldn't feel the pain.

The girls of course were relishing this, however.

Bates slowly set the pad back down in front of Naruto and straightened his posture as he walked back to the side of Dr. Gamma.

"Well," He said, clearing his throat. "As it would seem that you officers are…not too well acquainted yet, how do you think we should conduct this investigation, Dr. Gamma?"

Dr. Gamma nodded as he clasped his hands together beneath his chin in thought.

"How many are there again?" He asked Dr. Bates.

"Eight, sir. The four cops are all female, the four detectives all male."

This made Dr. Gamma smile. "I believe we can have some fun with this."

Wouldn't you know it; all eight heard this and immediately felt their insides drop. _Fun in whose definition???_

"I have it," Gamma announced, putting his hands together, for some reason not meeting anyone's eye (AN: foreshadowing???). "Now correct me if I get your names wrong, but I think I've learnt them quite well. Sasuke Uchiha?"

Sasuke lifted his head. "Yes, sir?"

"I want you to investigate his home with….Sakura Haruno, is it?"

Sakura lifted her head, squinting. "Yes," she squeaked. _Unfortunately._

Sasuke had a similar reaction. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to protest, but caught himself. _Remember what Jiraya said, _the more responsible sector of his mind chimed. _Even if it will be a living hell, _his shoulder devil added.

"Right," Gamma nodded. "And Neji Hyuuga?"

"Hm?"

"You will be investigating the music store he went to very often with Tenten."

"Whoa," Tenten said, having just been brought awake after hearing her name mentioned. "Ok, first of all, why a store?"

"Because," explained Gamma. "These four places of investigation are the places Dr. Gould went to most. For all we know, certain employees there could know more than we think…for the worse."

Tenten's spirits drooped on that note. "Ah," she said. "But also…" She looked at Neji, who gave her a warning glance. For whatever reason, it was a glance she didn't feel like messing with. She let her point drop. "…Never mind. We'll get on it."

"Good attitude," smiled Gamma, moving on to his next victims. "And, I think its Naruto Uzamaki?"

Naruto, still a bit embarrassed by his being busted for the notepad, lifted his head sheepishly. "Yeah, that's it."

"Ok, then, Naruto, I want you to go with Miss Hinata Hyuuga to search the office and workplace we worked at with Dr. Gould."

Hinata let her head drop. Just her luck. She had to investigate a boring place, an office building no less, and do it alongside a detective determined to yank out a stick that was allegedly up her butt?

Hinata cringed at the bear thought.

Not that Naruto took it any easier. After all, he was the one who made the comment, and now he was stuck with her. Life was just too perfect in that aspect, eh?

"And last but certainly not least, Shikamaru Nara?"

"Sir?" There were no more choices left. Shikamaru knew whom he was going to be spending the next grueling weeks with. And he dreaded it.

Ino knew it too. She looked at Shikamaru and scowled. _I…hate him, _she thought, glaring holes into the side of his head as he struggled not to look at her. _Him and his little Rods of Death._

"I want you to investigate the diner Gould went to regularly alongside—"

"Ino Yamanaka," Shikamaru languidly finished for Gamma.

However, Gamma was oblivious to Shikamaru's tone. "Oh, spot on, my boy!" He turned to Bates. "Tsunade and Jiraya never told me their top fours were so sharp! I'm feeling more confident already."

The eight officers wished they could say the same.

"Well," Gamma then said, ignoring the silence. "No time to lose, eh? Let's get cracking!"

All eight rose from their seats, staring at their now official 'partners'.

And they could all already tell they had a long investigation ahead of them. And I mean _very _long.

**Hey guys, as you can see, the investigation starts now. Though I know, the partners didn't come as that big a shock. But where would the fun be if they didn't turn out that way? I hope you enjoyed the chapter! R and R if you want!**


	5. Gould's Mansion

**Sorry for the late update. I was gone for the weekend, and my brother's birthday and father's day were on the same day, so it was pretty hectic. **

**Also, sorry I couldn't reply to any reviews, I usually do. But again, things were hectic and I didn't have time to get around to it because of the lack of internet access. But I swear, I'll reply this time around.**

**This is a SasuSaku chapter, heads up. I know some of you might not like SasuSaku, but the content in this chapter will become significant later…especially since I kind of posted this story in the SasuSaku section. **

**I will admit, I'm not too big a fan of them either, but I still like to write them. If that made any sense.**

**I'll quit babbling. **

Chapter 5:

Gould's Mansion

The following day, Sakura opened the door to the large Victorian mansion that once belonged to Dr. Gould. The door made a large creaking noise as she pushed it open, and shivers went down her spine. Normally, she investigated public places with her companions and many other people. Not normally dark mansions with her enemies.

Without waiting for Sakura to enter, Sasuke brushed past her and sauntered into the parlor, his coat fanning out behind him.

"What happened to ladies first?" Sakura cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Tell me when you see one," Sasuke answered without turning around as he flicked the light—or in this case, _lights_—on, illuminating many chandeliers in the surrounding rooms.

"You're too clever," Sakura replied, rolling her eyes as she stepped in and slowly shut the door. She was too preoccupied with coming up with ways to survive the investigation with the ass known as Sasuke to notice the beautiful crystal chandeliers.

"So I've been told."

"Oh?" Sakura asked, following him into the parlor. "Then perhaps you have been informed of your arrogance on more than one occasion?"

"I like to call it self-assurance," Sasuke answered as-a-matter-of-factly, whipping out a notepad and scribbling down on it.

"I bet you do," mumbled Sakura, looking over his shoulder at what he was writing. _I swear if this is another list…_

Sasuke must have felt her breath or something of the sort, since as soon as she did, he stopped writing and looked over at her oddly.

"Do you mind?"

"What are you writing?" She asked, not answering his initial question. Sasuke threw her a look.

"Why do you care?"

"Is it a crime to ponder what my new 'partner' seems to be leading on to?" Sakura asked this mock innocently.

At this, Sasuke gave a laugh and spun to face Sakura.

"You think this is a lead?" He grinned at her in a way that said 'you are so below me it's amusing.'

"Would that be ludicrous to think?" Sakura held her hands up defensively. Why did he find such pleasure in making her look like she was an amateur, which she certainly is not?

Sasuke gave a 'you're so slow' sigh. Apart from making Sakura look like an amateur, he also seemed to get off on translating his thoughts on her through facial gestures and sounds.

"If you must know, detectives in my division start with notes and suspicions, and eventually use what we gather to come up on a lead." He continued to write on his note pad. Sakura nodded dumbly and bit her lip.

"So what notes do you have down so far?"

Sasuke's writing came to a slow again as he finally had to succumb. He turned to Sakura again. "Take a look at this parlor. What pops out at you?"

Sakura let her eyes scan the parlor. Aside from the expensive-looking love seats and diamond encrusted bowls meant solely for just looking at, nothing really struck her as odd.

"Their obvious standards of costly living?" She offered, knowing that that was probably the last thing that Sasuke would have noticed, but she just loved to see his face drop.

"Look…harder," he said, disgruntled.

Sakura looked right at the tables. Well, what, what she going to find specs of dust worth taking notes on from the ground? No, if there was going to be anything consistent, which Sakura would know all about, it would be on a surface.

It was then that Sakura caught it. Well, she did catch it, but that doesn't exactly mean she understood it.

"So he has a lot of pictures," she said, shrugging. "Many people do."

"Yeah, but come," he said, waving her over closer to the frames on the mantle above a grand fireplace—a gas one, no less.

Sakura's guard dropped as she looked at them. "His family," she said quietly. Family. It sounded forlorn on Sakura's lips, having never had one of her own. Not that she was ever open to one. Having a family meant getting a husband, which was the last dot on her radar screen she was about to follow.

"Yeah," Sasuke replied, his voice almost as low and dropped as Sakura's had been, which confused her. I mean, the guy was an ass, but he wasn't exactly unfortunate looking. He probably had some trampy wife waiting on him hand and foot back home.

"So what's the problem?" Sakura broke both their trances.

"So where are they?" Sasuke asked, gesturing all throughout the house. "If your husband died, wouldn't you at least come home with the kids from wherever you were? Would you leave all of a sudden if you were already here in the first place?"

"Seeing as I don't have a husband," Sakura informed him, crossing her arms. "I'm not quiet sure I can imagine myself in such a position."

"Your sarcasm is appreciated but not needed, thank you," Sasuke said, sighing.

"That wasn't sarcasm."

Right then, for the first time, Sakura had caught Sasuke off guard. And she could tell, too, by the pallor of his face.

"You don't have a husband," he said as more of a statement than a question.

"Once did," Sakura said quietly. "But…"

"Oh. I see." Sasuke stopped her in her sentence, seemingly having understood it by the look on Sakura's face. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who could communicate without words. "I…I apologize."

"Forget it," Sakura said, shaking her head. "Anyway, continue?"

"Right," Sasuke said awkwardly, turning his attention back to the case. "Well, say if your sibling died or something of the sort, even if you were already here, would you just pick up and leave if they were murdered?"

"Oh please," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "Look—" She pointed at the young boy in a photo who looked about four or five, most likely Gould's son. "—How much damage do you think _that _kid has or has ever hoped to inflict?"

"Not the _kid_," Sasuke snapped. "The wife. Why would she just bail all of a sudden? What would she have to hide?"

"Maybe she was gone and is just on her way home," Sakura pointed out. "He just got murdered last night, what do you want her to do? Teleport?"

"Well, no," Sasuke said, a bit slower. Sakura grinned in accomplishment. She finally had him at something. "But she could have at least called."

"Who would she call?" Sakura asked, looking through the pictures on the mantle. "By the looks of it, there's little other family here for her to call."

"What about him?" Sasuke pointed at a man in one of the pictures holding Gould's child to support his point, refusing to loose to Sakura. "Something tells me parents don't let total strangers hold their kids."

"Well, look behind him," Sakura pointed out behind the man in the picture. "There's the waterfall signature to the rain village. He lives there."

"You don't know that for a fact."

"Um." Sakura pointed at a margin below the frame, a small card etched in gold lettering. Each picture had one below that seemed to explain the picture in a brief sentence. This particular one read, _Uncle's House._

"Oh," said Sasuke a bit quietly, retreating a bit. "Missed it."

A small silence was shared between the two, a long hiatus that seemed to be so drawn out and empty that it almost hurt.

"Hey," Sakura said stiffly.

"Hm."

"I have a question." She looked at her feet, letting her hair hang in front of her face.

"Go ahead."

"Why do you go through so much trouble to be an ass? Did you have some kind of past or something that bastardized you?"

This almost seemed to catch Sasuke off guard. He looked up at her with a face that almost looked dumbfounded. Sakura couldn't imagine why. He was the one that started everything with her, and seemed to relish every moment he spent getting on her last nerve.

So did this information of him being an ass really come as that big of a shock?

Sakura could tell he was about to protest, as he began to open his mouth, but his words were cut short when the walkie talkie on his belt began making harsh static sounds, indicating that he was being called.

He tore his eyes away from Sakura and plucked it off his belt, bringing it close to his mouth.

"Uchiha here."

"Sasuke?" It was Bates.

"Sir," Sasuke greeted him.

"When you think you're done there, we'd like for you to report back to the office building if it's not too much trouble."

Sasuke still didn't look at Sakura. "None at all. In fact, we'll be over there shortly."

Sakura's head yanked up at this. Shortly? It was a freaking _mansion_ for Pete sake. And so far, they have covered the mantle of the parlor. So what does that have to say for their progress?

"But-" Sakura was going to make a move to protest, but was immediately cut off by Sasuke.

"Expect us there soon." With that last line, he snapped it back on his belt and turned towards the door. Without looking at Sakura for any kind of approval or agreement, he started toward the door.

"Hey," Sakura called to him confusedly. "I don't know if we're talking about the same mansion here, but for what I know of mansions, there is more than one room."

Sasuke kept walking as if he had not heard her.

"Hey, did you hear me?" Sakura yelled at him, obviously frustrated with the way he was dismissing her existence. "We're not finished here yet!"

It was then that Sasuke turned to look at her finally. Only when he did, Sakura wished he didn't. His eyes with full of daggers and fire. In all, it was enough to shut Sakura up.

"We're done," he said firmly, locking her gaze. He held it there for a moment, as if the longer he held it meant the more Sakura would understand. After a hiatus, he tore his eyes away and opened the large door and pushed it open.

Sakura, on the other hand, was nowhere near ready to move. Was he bipolar or something? How can he suddenly make her look like the fouler player just for telling him what he was? She was caught up in two things…guilt and denial. And by that, she was denying her guilt for what she had said.

Sasuke must have been standing there as long as she, for he had obviously grown annoyed.

"Are you coming or not?"

Sakura's staring contest with the floor finally ended, and she shuffled forward to the door, begging to look anywhere but at Sasuke's eyes again.

When Sakura and Sasuke left the house completely, Sasuke was good four strides ahead of her as a result of his height and Sakura's…lack thereof. Sakura was thankful for this, for she was in no position to talk to him after what had happened. And that plan probably didn't sound so bad to him either right then.

As Sakura followed him down the sidewalk leading back towards town, she watched his feet as they made his long, anger-induced strides. Sakura was dumbfounded this time.

_Why did that little sentence hurt him that much?_

**In case some of you are confused, much foreshadowing took place towards the end. I hope those who are fans of SasuSaku enjoyed this one, and if you're reading this for a pairing other than SasuSaku, no worries, their moments are coming next. Thanks for reading, review if you want!**


	6. The Video Store

**I'm so sorry about the long delay. For those of you guys that haven't given up on me, this chapter contains another big key in the story, so I hope you like it! **

**Note: Plot gets more significant as the chapter goes on—so if you do feel uninterested at the beginning, skip to the middle rather than drop the chapter if that's all right (Although I'd prefer if you read the whole thing through).**

Chapter 6:

The Video Store

Neji ducked beneath the caution tape that barred the entrance to the music store. Tenten, following closely behind, couldn't help but catch a glimpse of the out-hanging tag on his button up.

_JC Penny, _she thought, narrowing her eyes as she pulled her trench coat further around her black-turtleneck-clad torso. _Taste isn't that bad, I guess. _

"I still don't get why we need to be here for this," remarked a tall, green dyed haired teenager, leaning against the store counter. By the look of her uniform, Neji and Tenten could tell she was one of the employees.

"Just for some questioning is all," Tenten informed her, reaching into her pocket to pull out a notepad. "It shouldn't take long."

"Thank God for that," Sighed another teenage girl, only more primped and pampered. Alongside her was another teenager that almost mirrored her. "If I miss another _Grey's, _I swear I'll have to start to…" she screwed up the contours of her face as if she had tasted something bitter. "…_Recording _them ahead of time."

"_Not_ gonna happen," shuddered her counterpart, apparently sharing her pain at the thought of what was seemingly a horrific predicament.

Tenten inwardly rolled her eyes as Neji cleared his throat.

"…Right, well, we should begin now," Neji said, not wanting to get caught up in the girl talk. "Do you want to take a seat?"

"We'll stand," the green head answered for all of them.

"That works."

"So," began Tenten, flipping over her notebook. "Which one of you works the cash register?"

The green head languidly raised her hand.

"Ok," Tenten nodded. "So what did he rent the most often when he came here?"

"Meh," muffled Green, playing around with a keychain in her hands from the front desk. "That was the thing- he hardly ever bought. He'd mostly just look. But when he did get something, it would be some cheesy classic like _Casablanca _or _Gone With the Wind."_

" 'As God is my witness…'" Sighed Pristine #1 as she quoted the infamous line of Scarlett. Green simply rolled her eyes in response.

"Ok," Neji nodded, jotting that down quickly. "Miss…" He looked at her nametag. "Deliah Jamison?"

"Not if you value your life."

"Ok, then what would be your preference?"

"DJ," she sighed, tossing the keychain back into the bucket on the desk. "Just DJ."

"Ok then, DJ," Neji said trying to hide the hint of oddness in his voice. "In what genre would he spend most of his time?"

"Seeing as I'm a cashier and not an isle worker, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum might be of more service to you." DJ hitched her thumb towards the two Pristines, who were obviously not too enthusiastic about their nicknames.

"Excuuuuuse me?" The first Pristine drew out stretching the vowel like a rubber band as she wiggled her fingers. "I prefer to go by Veronica?"

"Mel for me," Piped up the second Pristine, her golden curls bouncing as she pointed this out.

"Alright," sighed Neji, getting tired of the name game. "Around what genre would Gould normally browse?"

Veronica and Mel looked at one another. Mel, obviously being the sidekick of the two, bit her lip and shrugged.

"Veronica?" She said timidly, blatantly having not paid particular attention to where Gould had spent most of his time. Veronica's shoulders dropped in response.

"Aaah…" She held her hand up to her chin and looked to the ceiling. "Two things. Either family or horror."

Tenten blinked. _Wow. At least that's not ironic. _

"Well…" Neji cleared his throat, obviously seeing the oddness in this like Tenten. "Makes sense…sort of. He was, after all, a scientist, and the blood and limbs could easily have served…a study visual for him in some odd way."

"Oh, right, Hyuuga," Tenten sneered at him. "I'm sure studying the surgical methods of Freddy and Jason are just where Gould got his scientific expertise from."

"Well, _Officer _Tenten," Neji glowered back at her. "If you had the deductive mind half the size of an indecisive fruit fly, you'd learn that there's a logical reason behind everything."

"Is there?" Tenten asked him, tilting her head as she put her hands on her hips. "In that case, you could tell me why you are such a frigid bastard?"

Neji's eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at her, sending anger deeper than words. Tenten glared back at him, although smiling slightly in accomplishment.

"Damn, what's that all about," whistled D.J, raising an eyebrow. "You two ex's, or what?"

"Not exactly," growled Neji, turning his gaze away from Tenten at last.

"He wishes," scoffed Tenten unprofessionally, whipping out her note pad and writing furiously on it. "And the family section, you said?"

"Yeah," Veronica nodded, still a bit weirded out by the quarrel. "Mostly things like _Snow White, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid_…he pretty much had the whole Disney Princesses thing going on."

"According to what it says back in the files from Sakura, he does have a small child," Tenten nodded, jotting down what was said.

"A boy, though," Neji added. "How many boys do you know that enjoy the Disney Princesses?"

"They're classics," sighed Tenten in exhaustion. "Little boys are probably not old enough to know it's a girly thing, anyway."

"Well at least you give males some credit," Neji said sarcastically, jotting things down on his own note pad.

Tenten sighed. If this is what would happen at every realization, there were going to be some serious problems solving this case. _Keep your mind on the matter at hand, Tenten. _She continued questioning Veronica.

"Did he ever bring his son along?"

Veronica looked up at the ceiling as she bit a pink-glossed lip. "No," she said, shaking her head. "In fact, I didn't even know he had a kid until now."

"I did," said D.J, raising her hand reluctantly.

"You did?" Tenten asked her, turning to her.

"Oh, yeah," D.J nodded. "He told me a lot of stuff. Whenever he'd come, whether he bought or just looked around, he'd always weasel me into some casual conversation about the weather, construction, family, stuff like that."

"He'd never talk to me," whined Mel sadly. D.J laughed.

"Maybe if you spent more time actually working the shelves instead of the male workers on break at the next-door pizza place, he'd have talked to you, too."

Mel's face flushed at this. "Oh," she said quietly, backing behind Veronica in embarrassment.

"And…?" Tenten ignored the previous exchange and motioned for D.J to continue, becoming more and more interested.

"So naturally, I talked to him back. We had pretty normal conversations, nothing worth jotting down on that notepad of yours," she said, pointing at Tenten's beloved notepad, which she embarrassedly tucked closer to herself at this regard. "He seemed like an all-around normal guy. Can't imagine why any one would…" she hit a snag on her sentence as the accident came up. It seemed like it was an effort for her to work out of her mouth. "…do that stuff to him."

"Are you sure you don't recall any stranger conversations between you and him?" Neji asked seriously. "Did work pop up at all?"

D.J. thought long and hard for a moment before pursing her lips and leaning against the cashier counter. "Yeah…actually, yeah. That was a pretty weird conversation. Happened kinda recently, too."

"Really," Tenten said, eyes widening a bit as this was said. "Do tell."

"It's kinda long," D.J warned them.

"We have time," said Neji, tapping his pencil on his notepad.

"Ok," began D.J taking a deep breath. "The guy came in all slumped and depressed, way different from his usual happy demeanor. He went straight to the snack rack and began weeding through everything. He caught me watching him and just smiled, telling me something about how chocolate heals just about every kind of pain. So, I asked him if he was in some kind of pain right then. He said 'yes', and began telling me about how he was framed for seizing credit for some discovery made by his best friends. Alpha or something."

"Gamma," Tenten said quietly, her pulse beginning to quicken.

"Yeah, that was it," D.J nodded. "So, Gould was upset that Gamma wouldn't trust him ever again or something. Obviously, I assured him if he was a true best friend he'd understand that he wouldn't do that. After that, he thanked me, bought the chocolate and left."

Tenten and Neji both bolted this down word for word, neither of them believing it.

"Thank you," Neji told her dismissively, looking at his watch. "I believe our time is up. Thank you for the information…It will come in handy."

D.J nodded. "Anytime."

Veronica and Mel both looked disappointed that their 'efforts' had gone by unappreciated by Neji. Mel decided to speak up.

"Well, now that that's done," she piped up, breaking the tension. "Vera and I are off to the movies to catch the new Leo DiCaprio."

"Care to join us?" Veronica asked, taking this chance to sidle up to Neji in a way that she most likely thought was sensual.

Tenten's eyebrows shot up instantly as she searched Neji's face for any facial response. To her amusement, Neji's face looked annoyed.

"You know, I wish I could but I'm afraid I have to go by some pads and aspirin for my cramps," he said, his tone flat and his eyes rolling.

Veronica took a breath intake as she and Mel took a stride back from Neji.

"How incredibly…incredibly…"

Tenten couldn't suppress a smirk. _Rude? Manish? Just like the snarky detective he is? Why am I supporting him? Why am I smirking? Why am I asking questions? Why do I _care

"…Ignorant!" Veronica finished, looking fiercely at Neji. "Everyone knows you don't take aspirin for cramps…my _God._"

Tenten looked at D.J and knew they were thinking the exactly same thing. It took all the muscles in their guts to not bust into laughter.

"Uh…oh," Neji said, scratching the back of his head oddly. "You don't, do you. Well, we're later for something, aren't we Tenten?" He strode over to Tenten and grabbed her by the arm. Tenten looked at him with a 'what the hell?' face, but he continued to pull. "_Aren't _we?" He gave her a stern look.

"Uh…" she said, understanding. "Yeah. Thanks again ladies, we'll contact you if we have any more questions."

She didn't get to hear the response as Neji pretty much dragged her out under the caution tape and onto the sidewalk. From there, he dragged her into a narrow, nearby alleyway. Very narrow. _Uncomfortably _narrow.

…particularly uncomfortable because Tenten was not too sure about the sensation she was getting from the fact that Neji was pretty much millimeters from being squashed against her bust.

"Hey, what's the big idea, here?" She asked, yanking her arm out of Neji's grip. "And if it's so important, can't we discuss it at the office instead of a three and a half foot wide alleyway?"

Neji ignored her. "I know what you're thinking, and don't make any stupid premature decisions just because you have a lead."

"What do you mean?" Tenten asked him, trying to flatten up against the wall as much as possible.

"I know you think Gamma's our guy. I see why, too. But let me tell you, there are much more reasons out there as to why anyone would want to kill Gould. We just happened to dig up one," he said, lowering his voice. "So I don't want you running off to the office and telling your little cop friends that Gamma's our prime suspect."

"Are you kidding?" sputtered Tenten. "The guys obviously a suspect! He knew Gould, he seems to have a motive, it appears that he doesn't get out much…"

"Ok, first off," Neji snapped, holding up a finger. "The guy's _blind_. That tends to narrow down an abundant social life."

"_What???" _Tenten hissed, her eyes widening. "I mean…he is?"

"Yes," Neji said, rolling his eyes. "Or did you not notice how he said he had memorized our names instead of reading them off a list? And how he didn't look at us when he spoke to us? He's blind."

"How's he a scientist, then?" Tenten asked, scratching her head in confusion.

"Brail, how things feel, I don't know, apparently he pulls it off somehow. There are many areas of science that are available to blind people. But point two," he said, holding up two fingers. "If that's the logic you want to go by, then that D.J girl back there could just as easily be a suspect."

"What? How?" Tenten asked incredulously. "A moody teenager, yes, a rebel, maybe, but a killer?"

"She had a habit of not revealing essential information until asked," Neji pointed out critically.

"You look too deep into things," sighed Tenten before glaring. "That's the problem with you detectives."

Neji looked up at her slowly, an intensity in his eyes that Tenten had never seen before.

"Cops don't look deep _enough_," he told her softly, the intense look still on his face. "Not only when it comes to work," he added, turning to leave the alley, his arm brushing against Tenten as he passed her.

He stopped at he hit the end of the alleyway and looked back at her. "But in people, too."

Tenten felt something drop in her stomach when he sad that. She didn't know if it was regret, sadness, or something else she couldn't find a label to. But whatever it was, she didn't like it.

The only solution she could grab right then was to go back to the office and avoid Neji as much as possible.

**Again, I'm so sorry. Please review if you like. **


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